However, the chickens were in need of a home that is better than the chicken tractors that we started out with, and so we decided to remodel the outhouse into a chicken house! I love it, and hope you will enjoy a little tour:
Standing in the front looking in. What appears to be a jagged hole near the ceiling is actually a heat lamp reflecting the sunlight. We use it when the weather dips below freezing to prevent frostbite, which our birds experienced the first winter we had them.
This shot shows the perches and the vents with shutters at the top. You can also see the corner of the nest boxes to the left. Do you spy the egg on the floor?
Here is a better shot of the nest boxes.
I am working on a new way of using the animals to increase our food production. This little garden spot is last year's chicken yard. The photo was taken the second week of August. See how small everything is? That is because of the drought. We've only had three rains from the end of June until now. Even though things look pretty green, nothing grew or produced very well after early July, until the fall. This little patch and my row of tomatoes are what we chose to keep hydrated and nurse along. It has paid off well. The soil is just beautiful in this spot. It is so rich, loose, and nearly weed and bug free. Our plan is to rotate the location of the chicken yard to enhance the garden spot. We are working on a plan for housing them through this transition. We will either have lanes for them to travel to and from their house, or we will build a portable chicken house on skids.
